The Restaurant Of Stories
by Koarse Krimson
Summary: In every food there is a background to it's making. In every background are the creators. In every creator is a personality, and a reason...
1. Order one: Flourless Choc Cake

**Order One:**

**Flourless Chocolate Cake**

**By KoarseKrimson**

**A/N: **Gave a shot, why the heck not I thought? Read and Review, tell me if I need to improve. I know I'm not perfect, and there's always room for improvement.

**Disclaimer: **Do you really need to know that I don't own Galaxy Angel and it's works etc?

**Order one; Flourless Chocolate Cake: (General) **A delicious cake made by Vanilla H and Milfeulle Sakuraba with Normad!

* * *

"Chocolate... cake," Vanilla H spoke in her usual deadpan tone, holding up a cookbook in one hand. She pointed at a scrumptious image of a well made cake with her partially other free hand, which was still tightly gripping Normad.

"You want to make this cake Vanilla?" Milfeulle Sakuraba asked and looked at the delectable cake in the cookbook. Milfy had made plenty of these chocolate cake varieties, whether they had extra flour sprinkled on top, double layered, strawberry topped, she could name them all.

"Vanilla-sama wishes to create a pleasing cake, for reasons even my highly advanced processing capabilities don't even know," Normad answered in his intellectual manner, much to simple minded Milfy's dismay.

Earlier today Vanilla had been praying at her Nanobot shrine for endless hours, skipping breakfast and lunch. When it had come to dinner, Vanilla had finally stopped praying and joined the rest of the Moon Angel squad. To everyones surprise, Vanilla had asked for Milfy's assistance after dinner. Since Milfy never turned down help, she happily came with Vanilla to her room.

The three had been sitting on the floor in Vanilla's personal room inside the Elle Ciel, a rare occurrence due to Vanilla being quite private. Vanilla had invited Milfy inside to talk about cooking, although it was usually Normad and Milfy doing all the chit chat.

"Well... since we have no more missions today," Milfy paused for a moment as she 'thought critically' about the situation she had been put under. "I guess we can head to my kitchen and do some cooking straight away if..." Milfy stopped chatting as Vanilla got up off the floor and proceeded to head for the door leading to the hall, book and Normad in hand.

"Um, where are you going?" Milfy asked curiously.

"Making cake," Vanilla replied, not bothering to stop as she spoke.

**0o0o0o0**

Vanilla entered Milfy's kitchen, and looked around at the decorative scene placed before her. The room was undoubtedly bright and the wall colors filled the room with a homely, comforting feeling. Milfy's kitchen was near spotless. Pristine vases filled with water and vibrantly colored flowers filled any corners that would've previously looked dull.

"Such a clean kitchen as usual I must say," Normad was slightly impressed that the ditsy Milfeulle could maintain such a clean standard. "If only the idiot could put this much common thought into her missions."

"I'm... an idiot?" Milfy had appeared behind the two admirers, giving Normad a shock. Vanilla just casually turned around, unfazed by Milfy's sudden appearance.

"Yes, you are." Normad replied cruelly, making Milfy teary eyed. "For one, you get yourself in the most ridiculous situations," he continued, not noticing the pink haired girl trying to hold back tears, "and most of all your skill is based entirely on your luck, unlike Vanilla-sama, who is the most talented of all of you angels here,"

Vanilla noticed Milfy was about to cry buckets, and it was all Normad's doing. Through the cold exterior Vanilla displayed, inside she genuinely cared for her friends. So she thought up a means to punish Normad for insulting Milfy.

"Oven, one-fifty degrees, fifteen minutes," Vanilla held the pink, stuffed raccoon dog doll at face level, trying to show that the words she said were meant as a threat.

"You wouldn't do that to your faithful follower would you Vanilla-sama?" Normad laughed nervously in his high pitched voice, hoping it was a joke.

Much to Normad's horror and Milfy's surprise Vanilla proceeded to turn on the oven's gas and set the temperature to one-fifty, as promised. Vanilla opened the pre-heated oven halfway and placed the terrified Normad inside of the oven.

"Noooo!" Normad screamed in a girly fashion. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! Don't leave this intellectual being to burn to a crisp! I beg of you!"

Vanilla left the doll to a worthy 'sun tan' as she turned her attention to the sniffling Milfy, who had heard and accepted the apology. Vanilla gave Milfy a flower that she had taken from one of Milfy's vases as a 'it's okay, don't cry' gesture.

"Thanks, Vanilla," Milfy smiled briefly, wiping the tears from her eyes. Everyone on board the Elle Ciel knew that Milfy was emotional. Extreme sadness from Milfy could cause disastrous results...

**0o0o0o0**

As Normad's punishment was lifted on due time, Vanilla proceeded to take him out of the oven. Vanilla used the pink mittens she had borrowed from Milfy to take out a fresh batch of Normad. Much to her amusement he was almost completely brown.

"I have learned my lesson, never again will I insult Milfeulle," Normad lied, although Vanilla seemed to buy it as she placed him a top the kitchen counter.

Within the fifteen minutes Milfy and Vanilla had gathered the necessary ingredients to create '_Flourless chocolate cake with strawberries and ice cream_' and assorted them along the mixing bench on which they had set up.

"Wow, this cake is going to be great!" Milfy beamed with excitement and enthusiasm as she named the ingredients placed on the table before her. "We have caster sugar, reduced fat diary spread, cocoa powder, hot and boiling water, coffee powder, almond meal, eggs, ice cream, and most importantly," She took an exaggerated breath as to emphasize the importance of what she was about to say next, "clean Strawberries! Freshly picked and delivered!"

Vanilla looked blankly at the various ingredients. The electric beater and cup of boiling water being more interesting in her books.

"Put this apron on, don't want to dirty our uniforms now do we?" Milfy smiled as she handed Vanilla one of her pink and white stripped aprons that tied to a big bow at the back, happy that someone was in the kitchen with her. Vanilla looked down as the apron most definitely was to big for her, the end was sagging on the clean floor.

"Ah, it's too big," Milfy said, keeping her cheery smile as she looked through one of the kitchen cabinets for a smaller size.

Vanilla looked on as Milfy rummaged through the cabinet, watching tossed objects fly in various directions. Vanilla didn't break a sweat as she expertly dodged pots, pans and large knives. Whatever was large and potentially dangerous in a kitchen seemed to have been chucked out of that particular cabinet.

"Here it is! My old apron!" Milfy exclaimed as she turned around and kicked the cabinet shut. It was a smaller version of the apron Vanilla was given earlier. Vanilla took the apron and to her emotionless surprise it fit just right.

"May the lord have mercy on me," Normad muttered. He was quivering as Vanilla and Milfy turned their attention to the doll. Knives had outlined Normad's position along the wall behind him while a large fork had wrung itself around his delicate 'neck'.

"Uh, oopsie?" Milfy laughed nervously and scratched her head stupidly. Normad groaned and Vanilla seemed to not care.

**0o0o0o0**

The next few minutes went on without any unnatural occurrences. Milfy had pre-heated the oven and lightly greased the cake pan with the diary spread in which the cake mixture was going to be placed later.

Vanilla was mixing the cocoa powder and hot water in a medium sized bowl. She watched the dry mixture turn wet and saw the swirls the beater made as the ends moved in circles around the bowl.

Milfy noticed Vanilla's progress, telling her to now add the already mixed coffee and boiling water into the mix and stir. Vanilla easily complied, tapping the end of the cup of mixture carefully as to make sure she got out as much of the coffee as possible into the bowl.

When this was done, Vanilla added the almonds, sugar and eggs. That was when the problem began...

Vanilla started to struggle with the mixture as she noticed the electric beater had started to slow down in it's rotations. The beater started to create a static noise, which instantly brought Milfy's attention. "Huh?" Milfy was confused and worried at the same time, "That's not meant to happen."

The beater had begun to steam from the engine, smoke leaking out from the air holes as it apparently struggled with the mixture. Milfy started to panic as sparks started to fly out. Milfy acted quickly by turning the beater off at the wall.

"Phew," Milfy felt a huge relief come over her as she wiped her forehead and looked back to Vanilla. "Where's the beater?" Milfy asked, stunned to see Vanilla empty handed.

Vanilla pointed at the bowl in which the cake mixture was in. Milfy looked at the beater's cord and noticed that indeed the trail ended inside the bowl.

Soon the bowl started to shake. Little movements at first, then it began to shake violently, waves of mixture bashing against the sides of the bowl and some of the mix going over the edges.

Then the beater cord was sucked into the bowl, spinning around wildly first before it entered the 'brown hole'. "Gyaaah!" Milfy panicked, this cake was messing up her kitchen. "Make it stop, make it stop!" She squealed as she covered her eyes with her hands.

Suddenly the bowl stopped shaking, peacefully doing revolutions and making clattering noises as it halted to a stop. Milfy spread her fingers out so her eyes could see if the bowl had stopped moving, and indeed it had.

Vanilla took some of the mixture that had found a place on her apron and licked it off of her index finger, tasting it cautiously. "Good..." was Vanilla's answer.

**0o0o0o0**

Milfy had quickly put the mix on the cake pan and shoved it all into the oven, delaying the cake a second chance to create chaos. "Did Milfeulle get all the proper ingredients for this cake?" Normad asked the confused and slightly frightened Milfy, whom hated making mistakes.

"Yes, they're all the right ingredients, I'm sure of it!"

"Where did you get those eggs? I was sure the ship ran out of stock yesterday," Normad continued in his interrogation, making Milfy panic further and fiddle with her apron nervously.

"I...I found them in the fridge with the big red letters on them."

"The fridge with the letters 'Do NOT open', on them?"

"Yeah, that fridge!" Milfy clicked her fingers in remembering the contents. "It read, 'These eggs are not for domestic use. These are for biological genetics altering.'"

"Have you any idea what you just said?" Normad asked in bewilderment and Vanilla just looked on.

"Nope," the clueless Milfy smiled innocently. Vanilla looked down in embarrassment while Normad groaned in anger.

**0o0o0o0**

Suddenly growling sounds came from inside the oven. Everyone stopped to listen and the room became dead silent...

"You created a monster," Normad broke the short silence and Milfy sighed in shame.

"Sorry, it's just these were the only eggs I could find and..." Milfy tried to apologize, trying her best not to feel down.

"Don't cry," Normad seemed he was trying to cheer her up, until he said, "at least now there's something more retarded than you on this ship..."

Vanilla had somehow managed to stick Normad's thick neck through the thin neck of a flower vase, which effectively shut the doll up. "Sorry," Normad seemed serious in his apology, seeing how much the insult affected Milfy. Milfy sniffled loudly as she once again accepted the rude doll's apology with her never ending forgiveness, and went with Vanilla to see how their 'creation' was doing.

"No movement," Vanilla said, pointing at the cake from behind the glass.

"Yeah," Milfy agreed, noticing the cake was actually still and not growling anymore.

Good things always come to an end. Suddenly the cake lashed at the oven door, pressing it's new grown brown lips and tongue against the glass, making Milfy jump back in fright.

"Omnomnomnomnomnom!" It seemed to say as it opened and closed it's mouth against the oven window, wet chocolate drooling from it's mouth and smudging the glass.

"Eww!" Milfy was disgusted at the view in front of her, hiding behind Vanilla as the cake started to swirl it's tongue vigorously on the window.

"Goodness, I do hope you girls have a plan of action!" Normad couldn't contain his laughter, the situation in front of him was just too stupid not to comment on.

Vanilla took it as a last straw, shoving Normad in one of the cabinets and shutting the door on him. Vanilla then strapped a 'naughty corner' sticker on the cabinet. After that was done she casually walked back to the oven to watch the cake.

**0o0o0o0**

**Ding!**

The oven was finished. The timer had stopped. The cake was done, and Milfy had to get the cake out...

"D...Do I have to?" Milfy muttered, griping her mittens tightly and trembling slightly as Vanilla nodded in response, holding a large pan in front of herself for protection.

"The teacher always demonstrates... first."

"But the cake looks scary!" Milfie pouted, trying to argue her way out of getting the cake.

Vanilla responded by holding up a good luck sign on a mat that was lying on the mixing bench.

"Aw..." Milfy sighed and looked down in defeat, she had no choice...

**0o0o0o0**

The atmosphere was saturated with silence and tension, who would've thought a simple opening of the oven could get so much suspense? Milfy edged closer to the oven, every step sounding like bombshells in an echoing room. It seemed Milfy was stalking her prey, or was the predator the one lying in wait?

"Here goes..." Milfy gulped loudly and her hand trembled as she reached out for the handle. Sweating bullets, Milfy suddenly felt the handle and gripped tightly. Now all that was left was to open the door, and look at the results...

"Eek!" Milfy squealed as she opened the door in an over dramatic display of fright. Vanilla moved the pan further up to her face. Milfy had her eyes shut, for right in front of her was... the cake.

Now there was no movement in the room. Milfy was kneeling still as a statue while Vanilla stood upright with a pan in front of her face, just below the eyes.

"Wha...What does it look like?" Milfy asked, eyes closed and a stutter apparent in her voice.

"Round, metallic and carrying weapons of mass destruction," Vanilla responded.

"Ehh!" Milfy started to turn paler than she already was, mass destruction didn't sound friendly.

"That was sarcasm," Vanilla said in her voice that always sounded serious.

"Huh?"

"It's normal..."

"Really!" Milfy's mood suddenly lighted up, and the room seemed to as well. As she opened her eyes she saw a plain cake that had no toppings and... no tongue.

"But... how?" Milfy was stunned as she took the cake out without hesitation.

"The extreme heat might have killed the bacterial Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) modifiers, causing the cake to return to it's normal state," Normad's muffled voice came from the cabinet, relief overcoming the three from this fact even though Milfy had no idea what Normad just said.

**0o0o0o0**

"...And then you put the strawberries on top!" Milfy giggled as she expertly placed the tasty red strawberries on the now completed cake.

"I'm surprised that this cake is now... normal," Normad was completely bewildered. Vanilla had lifted the punishment from earlier and had Normad watch the cake closely.

"Hehe," Milfy was overjoyed. She had made another simply delicious cake, and with Vanilla as well. "There you go Vanilla! One yummy cake ready to be eaten!"

Vanilla picked up the plate that held the cake and eyed it like a taste taster.

"Be careful Vanilla-sama, that cake may still be dangerous..." Normad said with a hint of concern in his voice. After much inspection the cake was deemed safe and edible, at least for now.

"So, we made a cake, what are you going to do with it Vanilla?" asked Milfy who looked at Vanilla in complete curiosity, surely Vanilla had some form of motive.

"For a... friend." Vanilla seemed to turn a slight shade of pink, a once in a lifetime sight. This of which only fueled Milfy's curiosity further.

"Why is your face red? Are you sick?" Milfy was sadly clueless. Vanilla realised she had a visible blush and shrugged the small emotional opening off in an instant.

"I'm fine, thank you," Vanilla bowed, holding the cake in her hand like a maid. With her other hand she gripped Normad and left Milfy's kitchen.

"Strange," Milfy thought deeply, "Vanilla doesn't usually act like that." Suddenly Milfy felt a painful shock flow up her spine from a sudden realization. "Vanilla did eat that bit of cake when that thing was alive, what if..." Milfy suddenly mentally slapped herself, she couldn't think pessimistically like that. "Nah, maybe it really is just for a friend," Milfy smiled at her new conclusion as she nodded to herself and started to clean the messy kitchen...

**0o0o0o0**

Vanilla brought the cake into her room and placed it like an offering to the shrine. She then knelt and payed her respects.

"Vanilla-sama?" Normad was confused. Vanilla had already prayed previously, so why now?

_"Happy birthday... Sister Beryl..."_

_**End Order One...**_

* * *

**A/N: There's Order One!** In the last second I remembered Vanilla had to have some kind of motive behind making cake and... that's all I could come up with. Sorry if it wasn't a good excuse, lol.

Coming soon...

**Order Two; Midnight Cookie: (General/Slice of Life)** An evil monster, a famous family, an untold legacy. Mint, forte and Chitose are on the case!


	2. Order Two: Midnight Cookie

**Order Two:**

**Midnight Cookie**

**By KoarseKrimson**

**A/N: **Wanted this to come up first so I arranged the order a little, the end of the Banana split one will come soon so don't worry.

**Summary: (General/Slice of life)** An evil monster, a famous family, an untold legacy. Mint, Forte and Chitose are on the case!

* * *

While we try to teach our children about life, it's the children that teach us what life is all about. How to play with friends, how to act silly, how to act cool but instead humiliate ourselves in front of others, how to use our imagination to create seemingly impossible situations... Most importantly though, is that children teach us how to have fun, and how to forget all the bad troubles in life...

"Such an optimistic book," Mint smiled as she briefly skimmed the next few pages, looking at the heartwarming pictures of children playing freely together. Sadly though, most of the writing from the dusty book had faded significantly from long age, even the pictures were starting to lose quality.

The planet's historical literature library was, with due respect, a dusty collection of old and mostly useless records. Mint however, found this stuff most intriguing, (apart from her secret past time, of course.) even though she was meant to be here on a mission...

"We're not here to look at children Mint," Forte snickered at the crude meaning behind her comment, taking Mint by surprise.

"Ah, but the books here are quite the read, Forte," Mint replied hastily as she slammed the book shut and placed it a top some dusty old tomes, time to get back to work it seems.

"I'm lucky I don't have asthma," Forte said as she sneezed, bumping into the shelves was probably not a good idea. "Let's look over here, Mint."

The two, along with Chitose, whom was at the bottom level of the library, were looking for a specific book. It was a book on a aristocrat family that supposedly made a deal with the devil, so the rumors said. If the book was found though, it would help the Angeltai in their case for the 'Slug Man Of Berne'.

Mint quickly and throughly scanned each book along the row of shelves on top as Forte pushed the ladder along, rather half heartedly. It was more of Forte finding a place to lean on, but failing each time as her weight sent the ladder slowly further away from her, much to Mint's convenience and amusement.

"Stay still, dammit," Forte grumbled and grunted continuously as the ladder refused to do her bidding, much like a mischievous child. Looking through books was something the active Forte definitely didn't specialize in, so it was mainly Mint doing most of the actual labor.

"Heads up Forte!" Mint shouted as she accidentally fumbled one of the books she pulled out. The book left a trail of dust as it fell onto the nonreactive Forte's head, ending with a bump and falling to the floor. All Forte could manage was a loud moan as the ladder once again moved further away. Mint giggled as Forte looked like a dusty robot; lean, groan, move, repeat.

The search continued for what seemed like ages to Forte, Mint kindly asking if she would push the ladder in the other direction so that she could check the next row. "Found the dam book yet?"

"If I did, we wouldn't be here right now, would we?" came Mint's smartarsed reply, which made Forte whine like a spoiled child. This row seemed less dusty unlike the rest, Mint instantly noticed when the first book she quickly took from the shelf didn't create a dust storm, but rather, a small puffy cloud instead.

"Someone else has been here recently," Mint concluded silently as she read aloud the tome's title, "How To Make Your Own Family... Eh!" Mint squeaked and blushed a furious red as she read the title. Her ears perked up as she quickly shoved it back into place.

"You found it?" Forte seemed to think the squeal was a sign of completion as she suddenly lit up with life and looked at the tomato red faced Mint.

"N...Not yet, Forte," Mint stuttered as she pretended to busy herself with more books, acting as if nothing had happened. Forte simply sighed as she went back into robot mode, muttered curses now included.

0o0o0o0

Soon sets of books became sets of rows, even Mint started to become bored. She was also about to give up with Forte when suddenly her time gem activated.

"Mint, Forte, I found the book," Chitose's voice sounded through the gem, to Forte the voice was pure heaven to her ears. Without even a word of reply or thanks, Forte was already bolting towards the lower level, Mint just sighing as she steadied a casual pace.

When Mint had finished the last step of the spiral staircase she noticed Chitose and Forte studying the book tentatively, as if it was a useless find. When she joined in the reading she noticed that the book was essentially a picture diary, with small quotes for each picture.

"Any links?" Mint asked abruptly, disturbing the other two from their confused trance.

"Well, the only link here is the way the family's father had murdered his targets, sucked dry their insides and left them with just skin and bones." Chitose answered briefly as she studied the pages with intense focus, eyes never leaving the book..

"And that they're both freaks," Forte finished, cringing slightly at a picture of one of the poor 'lambs of the slaughter'.

After much inspection and argument, the threesome decided that they had what they needed, and quickly proceeded towards the exit with only a torn page in Forte's hand which read, '23rd Brightline Rd, Cretin Vally.'

0o0o0o0

The rural area of the aging librarium contradicted it's inside, townhouses and small shops were littered with vivacious people, Mint, Forte and Chitose blended into the mix.

"Remember you two, we're here on a mission, to find the murderer." Forte took another breath before she continued. "We'll split up here, but no sidetracking, got it?"

"Understood," Chitose responded in a respectful manner, nodding as she took the route on the right.

"Yes, yes..." Mint giggled silently, secretly patting her cute pink bear bag because of the spare cash she brought along, no way she was missing out on lolly testing and possibly cheap cos play wears.

"Good," Forte grunted and nodded as she took the most direct route, forwards, towards the location written on the paper in hand.

0o0o0o0

The small town's marketplace was filled with ambitious sellers and equally ambitious buyers, incredibly happy with each purchase they made. It made Chitose smile to see so many ecstatic, friendly faces, waving and greeting afternoon to each person that initially greeted her. Happiness really was a contagious disease.

What caught her by surprise however, was a scene being displayed in her prolific vision. Chitose veered her head slightly to the left into a skinny alleyway, a young child was evidently being bullied by older, meaner ones from the block.

"What's the matter shrimp? Your scrawny arms not enough to reach your precious amulet?" One of the mean ones, most likely the leader of the older twits, laughed as the child tried helplessly to grab his precious possession.

"Give it back! It's mine!" The child had tears swelling up in his eyes, his hopeless actions furthering the emotional discomfort.

"No way mini freak, you think your so high and mighty with your rich family and all that useless crap," the leader spoke in a venomous tone, making the child cower slightly in fear.

"J...Just g...give it back!" the child tried to act brave, chest held high but head held low in fear.

"That's not how you take revenge, kids," Chitose grinned evilly as she seemed to hold something behind her back, grabbing everyones attention.

"This ain't got nuthin to do with you, misses," the leader glared at Chitose as she approached him with a dark aura.

"Give me that, I'll show you how it's done," Chitose hissed as she expertly snatched the amulet with her free hand and revealed what she was hiding with the other, a rather sharp knife.

"First you have to chop an arm off or two," a menacing smile appeared across Chitose's face as she raised the knife, terrifying the bullies, and terrifying the child, who shut his sore eyes shut and shock in fear.

"She's a freak! Let's bail!" the leader screamed in a girly fashion as he and his posse of twits ran for their dear lives, leaving Chitose and the cowering boy to their lonesome.

0o0o0o0

"I'm very sorry about scaring you like that, here's your priceless possession," the menace became the angel as the child opened his eyes to a welcoming smile and a glittering amulet in front of him.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not really a monster," Chitose used a sweeter tone than usual, almost motherly like, which seemed to work as the boy reached for his amulet.

"T..Thanks, miss," the voice was almost a whisper, he was still shaking from the scene he had just experienced.

Attempting to calm the boy down, Chitose sat beside him and tossed the dangerous knife away. "My name is Karasuma Chitose, what's yours?"

"B...Berne, Ryouta Berne," came the shaky reply. Ryouta's last name was something Chitose had heard somewhere before, but she just couldn't pick up where. Before she was even able to ask a question Ryouta began to speak up.

"This amulet, was from my father, we used to be a rich aristocrat family once," the shakiness from his voice seemed to fade, confidence and trust taking it's place.

Chitose wanted him to talk on, trying to buy some time as she tried to remember the relevance of his last name, "What happened?"

"Some bad people came along and took father's home, we had to live in a townhouse after that." Ryouta's tone became sorrowful, if only for a split second, "But that doesn't matter, since father gets to spend more time with me now." a smile escaped the once saddened child, Chitose couldn't help but smile as well, smiles were contagious after all.

"What about your father? What's he like Karasuma?" Ryouta asked quizzically, surprising Chitose.

Chitose was lost for words, should she tell this child about her father? "I don't know much about my father nowadays, since I lost contact with him when I was young," she didn't want to tell Ryouta that in fact her father had died, he was probably still too young to openly talk about death with.

"Really? Maybe you two should catch up or something, and talk about things, I'm sure he misses you," Ryouta suggested innocently, Chitose felt a sudden pang in her chest from sudden memories of her father. "Are you okay, Karasuma?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Chitose noticed she was displaying a painful expression, replacing it with a caring one.

"I'm worried about my father though, I haven't seen him for two whole days now, and it's lonely for me at night." the happy tone became concerned once more, Chitose felt immense pity for the skinny kid displayed in front of her. "I know this may be too much to ask, but can you take me home? I live at 23rd Brightline Rd, Cretin Vally, about fifteen minutes walk from here."

Chitose nearly skipped a beat, Ryouta didn't just say that address, did he? "Sure, let's get going then, we don't want to get anyone worried..."

0o0o0o0

The sun had already begun it's retreat for the day, an orange layer had been painted all over the landscape in areas rays of natural light reached. Street vendors began to start packing up their shops for storage over the cold and possibly rainy night, much to Mint's discontent. All that was left for her to do now was get on with the mission at hand.

After pointlessly walking for ages, Mint had found herself at a highpoint view in a local park. The view was surely spectacular, a view of the whole town was quite a sight. This wasn't going to bring the mission to her though, or will it?

"Well, how about it monster-san, we're alone now, how about you show yourself?" Much to her luck, the mission had been following her instead. In a desperate attempt to keep the element of surprise, the monster lashed forward from the bushes it hid behind, homing onto the fragile looking Mint.

As if foreseeing the event displayed upon her, Mint quickly side stepped and unlatched her bag in consecutive motion, leaving the monster to grab thin air. Screeching in frustration, the monster went for another grab at Mint, failing miserably as Mint paced quickly backwards, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process.

"You seem desperate," Mint mentally slapped herself for stating the obvious, as it distracted her from finding her gun. Her statement only caused aggravation towards her aggressor, who now started to flail it's newfound claws in her general direction. It quickly escalated to a game of cat and mouse, the monster the clumsy cat and Mint the dodging mouse. Every miss just resulted in more revenue being deposited in park maintenance, slashes and holes littered the lampposts and vending machines.

"_Keep calm at all times, now where's that gun?"_ Mint started to become desperate as finding her firearm became increasingly stressing and difficult. When she did find her gun, she lowered her guard, which gave the monster a nice opportunity to make her bump into the guard railing that overlooked the viewpoint's edge. "Nononono!" Mint's sudden shout occurred as the force of the bump made her lose grip of her weapon, sending it over the edge as she accidentally kicked it away.

"Too bad," a dark, sinister and piercing voice flowed into Mint's ears like a waterfall. It was the monster, it had spoken as it slowly approached it's unarmed prey. "Don't take this personally, you were just there when I needed a good feed."

"None taken," Mint said shakily, she was cornered now, and there were two options she had thought up; either wait and hope for the best, or escape by jumping the edge. Both sounded like simple suicide. "Probably should have called for the others earlier."

The monster roared as he leaped towards his target, Mint. She closed her eyes as she waited for impending doom, _"Where are the others, when you need them?"_

0o0o0o0

**Bang!**

All Mint heard was a scream of her name and a gunshot soon after, but there was no feeling of pain. As she opened her eyes she realized why; Forte had come just in time.

"Leave her alone, I'm the one that gives punishments," Forte grinned as she blew the steam away from her weapon. The bullet had found it's mark on the monster's side, the monster wailing as it regained it's posture.

"How did you know I was here?" Mint sighed in relief, maybe bullets for brains had something in there after all.

"Let's just say I wanted to see a good view of the town before I called it a night," Forte laughed sheepishly as Mint discarded any praise she was about to say and replace it with a sigh of pity.

"Dammit! Two of you," the monster clutched it's open wound tightly as it prepared to bail, "Ta ta for now!"

"Oh no you don't!" Forte shouted as she aimed for another shot at the fleeing monster, missing several shots as it blended into the foliage. "Come on Mint! Let's get this freak already!"

Mint simply complied as the two gave chase to the bleeding monster, unawares of where it was taking them.

0o0o0o0

Somehow Ryouta had convinced Chitose to come inside and have a look around, as he happily chatted to her about various things inside his home. After seeing many of the various artifacts, antiques and talismans scattered along the walls and halls of the small home, it was quite evident that in fact Ryouta's family had indeed lived in a much grander estate previously.

"All that stuff was from father's numerous adventures to caves and ruins, he would tell me all these stories about his adventures." Ryouta explained chirpily, grinning proudly at his father's achievements. Chitose happily listened to Ryouta as he blabbered on, but she also kept a vigil eye on anything that would prove useful for the case.

"The last thing my father said to me before he left was something about making science more well known, then he talked about guinea pigs, he sure is weird sometimes," Ryouta laughed as he scratched his head. Chitose however, didn't find this funny in the least.

"Your father made himself a guinea pig for an experiment?"

"I think that's what he said, but then he made a promise to me," Ryouta smiled as Chitose felt her heart sink in despair.

"**He promised me that he'd come back, we pinky sweared on it." **Ryouta had immense trust in his parent, which Chitose knew would come back to bite him in the end.

The pieces fit perfectly now, and Chitose knew perfectly well that the boy may never see his father again. Much less like her father, his was probably doing this for his child's future. _"That's... You poor thing," _Chitose looked away and pretended to busy herself, having some other young child relive a past she experienced seemed like pushing her old burden onto another innocent soul, even though she didn't mean to.

Suddenly a crash from broken glass resounded in the long hall, frightening Ryouta and alerting Chitose. "Stay close," Chitose ordered in a protective tone as she pulled out her weapon, Ryouta easily complied.

"Don't shoot, please," a frightening tone pierced the innocent air as Chitose focused on the gun's sight, making sure Ryouta wasn't far behind while searching for the intruder. "Can I talk to Ryouta first?"

"How do you know his name?" Chitose asked to nothing in particular, knowing that the intruder could easily hear her question.

"I'm his... father," the last word sounded human as a middle aged man with hands raised appeared on the opposite side of the hall. "Hello there, son,"

"Father!" Ryouta almost bursted into tears as he began to run towards his father.

"Don't come near me! I'm afraid I'll hurt you too," his father stepped back as his words felt like a physical punch into Ryouta's heart.

"Ok, father," Ryouta's bare whisper was Chitose's last straw, she couldn't take it anymore. She slowly paced ever closer to the man, who stared at her in shock.

"What are you doing! Keep away from me! I'm a freak!" he insisted, until Chitose slapped him hard across his cheek.

"Your not a freak! Your a father! Your meant to give support to your children! Not neglect them and then say everything will be alright!" Chitose knew she was crying, and the man got himself a nice dose of reality, "Your son doesn't want every known toy in the universe, he just wants you, his father. He wants you to tell him stories, he wants you to listen to him, he wants you to assure him when he's crying, he just wants you there in his life, it's that simple!"

"Chitose! Move!" Forte screamed above all the noise, aiming her gun.

"Don't shoot!" Chitose cried back, holding her arms out and placing herself in front of the man.

**Bang!**

0o0o0o0

Her body was unresponsive, with this fact established in firm stone, Chitose knew the bullet had hit her. _"If I can change the future for Berne, so that he doesn't have to face the problems I did, then I'd gladly take a bullet."_ the world suddenly shaded red and then turned black, as Chitose fell to the wooden floor.

"Shit! You idiot!" Forte eye's widened in fear as she ran to check if Chitose was even breathing, Mint said nothing as she stared at the speechless father and frightened child.

Forte turned Chitose over and checked her pulse at her neck, it was weak, but it was there. "Mint! Call the Elle Ciel! And call the local hospital!" Forte shouted as she pulled her weapon towards the man once more, "Your not moving, got it?"

The situation had gotten from bad to worse, an murderous criminal who had his son in the room was at gun point, Mint was rapidly trying to contact the Elle Ciel,and Chitose was in a critical condition.

"They're coming now, shouldn't be long," Mint informed Forte, who nodded in understanding.

"I never really expected a young woman to teach me about life," the man said as he looked down at his badly injured savior, although he was injured as well.

"**While we try to teach our children about life, it's the children that teach us what life is all ****about."** Mint quoted, much to everyones surprise.

"Where'd you get that from?" Forte asked.

"Oh, just from a book I read." Mint smiled as she recalled the book she read earlier.

0o0o0o0

The Angeltai were back on the Elle Ciel, Chitose in the medical bay. The doctor informed them all that she'd be a-ok, back to full strength within a few hours after she took some medical anesthetics and had a quick operation. The monster had been given a fifteen year jail sentence, with Ryouta under the care of his uncle. It seemed all ended well.

"You guys have fun down there?" Ranpha asked the duo quizzically, Milfeulle and Vanilla also seemed interested.

"Well, I learned something while I was down there," Mint continued after clearing her throat, "Never stand in front of Forte and her target,"

"Shut it!" Forte hissed as everyone laughed heartily.

"Anyways, you guys should try my new kind of cookie, it's called the Midnight Surprise." Milfeulle squeaked with enthusiasm as Mint and Forte gladly accepted, following her into the kitchen. "Don't eat them all though, I want to save some for Chitose too..."

* * *

**A/N: Order Two complete.**

**Order Three: Lucky Dip**

**Summary:** "What is this?" Takuto asked innocently, pulling out the item in question from his bag.

"You Pervert!" Ranpha instantly reacted, punching in Takuto's face.


	3. Order Three: Magic Cupcake

**Order Three**

**Magic Cupcake**

**By KoarseKrimson**

**A/N: **Order Three is actually a Prologue on the past for a new flowing chaptered story I have ready for the Galaxy Angel section! Woot! Get ready, I'll have the first chaps up in around a week or two. I think it's slightly AU, but its probably not.

**Summary: (General)** Mint checked over the letter that had been given to her. She jaw dropped after reading the end of the contents. "I'm going to learn modern magic tricks at grandfather's Manor!"

* * *

"_To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France_

The Elle Ciel was calm today, there were no warnings and all the crew resumed their standby status. The calm was what made the Angeltai all restless and anxious, they had gotten way to used to fighting, the numerous enemy waves from last month was near endless. The aggressors finally gave in when Takuto Mayers had the girls use an experimental weapon that was attached to Milfeulle's Angel Frame. It had decimated the enemies command ship, causing a mass retreat.

"I'm so bored..." Ranpha was the first to speak up among the six, whining as she flopped backwards on the couch in the meeting room.

"I have an itchy trigger finger...wheres that dam doll when you need him?" Forte was clearly agitated and restless, at most possibly stressed.

"How about a story to pass the time?" Chitose suggested to her comrades, receiving a general surprised reaction among the group.

"I love stories! Is it a fairytale?" Milfeulle exclaimed ecstatically, she was obviously in with the idea. Soon after the girls all agreed and decided that one of them would tell a story about their childhood. Forte and Ranpha already shotted not. Vanilla was not a good speaker so she counted outs. Chitose's past was quite personal, so she was also out. Milfeulle's childhood was something of a sad one, plus everyone has heard her talk about it many times over already (especially Ranpha.), so that left the group staring at Mint.

"I could tell you guys about the time my grandfather taught me a little magic." Mint grinned, after much thought. "At first I thought magic was all a fairytale, but my 'goofy grandfather' showed me that there's more to the universe than what we just see..."

* * *

_--Six years before Mint joined the Angel Troupe...-- TCY 406_

Mansion life was particularly carefree; you awaken from a very comfortable bed, then there's a bountiful breakfast, servants do all the work for you, it was heaven...

"What a bland heaven." Mint sighed as she slumped on the crystal breakfast table, disregarding the table etiquette she was currently learning. When one has everything one ever wanted, and has nothing left to do, one naturally becomes bored. "Is there anything I haven't done yet?"

"Is something not to your tastes Young Master?" one of the servants asked Mint, who quickly scanned the food on Mint's decorative plate for anything 'suspicious'. Mint just shock her head and casually gestured her servant back to her original position.

"All is fine Rosemary. I'm just...bored." the young blue haired girl groaned as she arched backwards, resting her head on the cushioning of the exquisite chair.

"Maybe Young Master should try something new?" Rosemary suggested thoughtfully as she poured Mint another glass of orange juice. Rosemary Mourvedre was Mint's trusted maid, they were only a year apart and the only young children in the whole mansion. The two were outer opposites, Rosemary having shoulder length crimson hair and deep blue eyes. Rosemary however was also quite short, but not at an extreme like Mint was.

Mint gave Rosemary's suggestion a few minutes thought before shaking her head in disdain, "That's the problem, what haven't I done yet?"

"Has Young Master read the letter sent by her grandfather?" Rosemary questioned the bored girl, smiling at Mint's sudden expression of surprise.

"Letter?" was the simple reply, Mint was clearly perplexed at Rosemary's question. Where was this letter?

Rosemary just giggled politely, her soothing smile that was easily ranked as motherly an instant reassurance. "I believe I left it on Young Master's bed drawer." she explained, her eyes and head staring at the ceiling while she recalled the memory.

"Then after breakfast we shall read my goofy grandfather's letter." Mint chuckled, eating her food in a hasty but polite demeanor.

"And get properly dressed." Rosemary added, directing her voice at the blue and white striped pajamas that Mint was wearing, tugging at the soft material in an indirect nag.

"That too..." the embarrassed Mint finished, cheeks as red as apples from Rosemary's teasing.

* * *

After a brief change in her massive bedroom, which was filled with toys and had walls that matched her hair color, Mint directed herself towards her bed side drawer. Rosemary rolled her eyes at the messy room, clothes and toys were scattered around the floor. It was surprising since the room was cleaned yesterday.

The noise of objects hitting the floor echoed in the large room as Mint pushed aside anything that wasn't a letter resting on top of the drawer. "Where is it?" she spoke to no one in particular as she opened a jar, turned it over, and let whatever was inside fall to the floor. A colorful wave of jellybeans fell and bounced after they hit the ground. They rolled around aimlessly and created more mess than Rosemary anticipated.

"Young Master, maybe your teddy bear is holding it." Rosemary pointed towards a large gray teddy bear that sat on the opposite end of the drawer, trying her best to keep a masked maid smile. _"I'm so going to have Mint-chan learn how to clean..."_

"Ah, thanks Rosemary." Mint said while she quickly grabbed the intricate letter from the bears furry paws. "A golden seal, this is definitely goofy granddad's letter." Mint's voice rose in a cheerful tone as she eyed the seal, a stereotypical wizard holding two wands which he had crossed in front of himself.

Before she opened the letter, Mint made a noise that indicated that she suddenly remembered something. "That's right! Hey Rosemary, could you give this to father for me?" she handed Rosemary a key from one of the bottom drawers, placing the silver item on Rosemary's palms. "It's father's spare key to his study, he lost it a few days back."

"You wish me to hand it to Master Damo with your regards?" Rosemary asked as she pocketed the key.

"Nah, just say you found it while cleaning, I don't want father bear hugging me as thanks." Mint answered, breathing in deeply after remembering the last time her father hugged her, she could barely breathe.

"As you wish." Rosemary replied as she bowed and took her leave, now Mint was alone with only a letter from a goofy grandparent.

"_I wonder why grandfather sent a letter specifically for me? Usually he writes to the whole family."_

Mint questioned in her mind, slowly tearing off the seal and taking out the letter inside. Mint checked over the letter that had been given to her.

_Dear Granddaughter Mint Blancmanche;_

_How are you doing little one? I bet you are having fun right about now, with all those toys and junk that your silly father keeps buying you._

"Fun? Your wrong about that." Mint sighed loudly before continuing.

_Anyways, I have a surprise for you. But before you read it, I want you to read this question and answer it in your head as best as you can, okay?_

"Say what?" Mint was dumbfounded. Her grandfather sure had weird ways of trying to bond with her.

_Do you believe that real magic is all around us?_

"Real magic? Has grandfather finally lost it?" Mint giggled at the question at hand, rather uncontrollably after remembering her remark.

_If you don't, then it's okay. You'll be in for the shock of your life when you come over my house tomorrow for one day. I'm going to teach you a couple of magic tricks!_

"Tomorrow? Magic tricks?" Mint was yet again confused, she checked the date of the letter and it read Friday, which was yesterday.

_Oh and while your at it bring Rosemary along as well, she is 'officially' my maid since I did adopt her. I want to see how she's doing. I care for that girl like she was my own daughter, a bit like how I care heaps for you. I was surprised when she said "I wish to serve your granddaughter." Anyways, hope to see you two soon._

_Love Chervil Blancmarche, your 'goofy gramps'._

She jaw dropped after reading the end of the contents. "I'm going to learn modern magic tricks at grandfather's Manor!"

"Ah, so you read the letter my old man sent you." a deep voice came from behind as Mint spun around and saw her father, along with Rosemary. "The old timer rang, he told me that you and Rosemary want to visit him today."

"That's correct father, we wish to visit grandfather at his manor." Mint stated firmly, remembering how a rich maiden should speak towards others.

"Well then, get yourself ready, I'll get one of the servants to drop you two off in about an hour." Mint's father, Damo, said nonchalantly as he exited the room. The two girls cheered silently, already preparing their things for the day ahead.

* * *

When the limousine pulled up at the front gate, Mint and Rosemary noticed Chervil waving at them from his front entrance. "Come on in young ones!" he said through the intercom, pressing a button on his remote which activated the iron gate.

The front garden was quite enchanting, colorful shades of white and blue filled the garden beds. Butterflies roamed freely, while bees stuffed themselves with sweet nectar. "Still beautiful." Rosemary said in awe, nostalgia flowing back into her mind. Mint did enjoy the view, but her interest was on her maid. The garden must've been important to her, considering the very real smile she had on display. "Isn't it enchanting Young Master?"

"Eh?" Mint's mind was wandering for so long, only to be disrupted by the source of the previous distraction. "It does look interesting."

"It's like magic, right?" Rosemary giggled at her remark, unawares to Mint's serious reaction.

"You could say that..." Mint replied, her voice softening to a bare whisper with each passing word._ "Magic, huh?" _she thought as the limousine finished moving, _"I guess it's time to get out now."_

Mint exited the limousine, only to be introduced by a warming hug. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Likewise, grandfather." Mint returned the embrace, family reunions sure were sappy. When Chervil broke away from the hug he noticed Rosemary exiting the limo, his aged face lit up with energy.

"It's been a minute too long Rosemary. Come, give this relic a hug." Chervil grinned as he widened his arms, awaiting Rosemary's hug.

"It would be unsightly for a servant to show affection in such an intimate manner." Rosemary argued, waving her arms in front of her. Unfortunately for her, Chervil wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Here comes the gray bear!" he laughed playfully, hugging the shy Rosemary tightly. As he held her, he spoke softly in her ear, "You're not my servant Rosemary, you are like a daughter to me, and daughters hug their old relics after a long awaited reunion."

"Yes, master." Rosemary finally had the courage to hug back, which made Chervil shed a small tear.

"And they call their old relics by father."

"Yes, father."

* * *

Chervil showed the two to his study, which actually resembled a rather large library. Books from different eras and languages filled the shelves that we're built into the walls. They also filled the standalone shelves that were packed in one section of the study. After indulging the view, Chervil gestured the girls to follow him up the stairs towards the second level.

When they reached the top, they noticed a sleeping boy who was resting his head on a book. "Who is that?" Mint asked, pointing at the peaceful figure.

"His name's Milo." Chervil answered, walking towards the desk the boy was using as a pillow. "I see he finished it, good job boy." he took some scrambled notes from the desk, patting Milo's hair as thanks. Chervil put a finger on his lip at the girls, signaling them to be quiet when they walked past Milo.

After more minutes of walking, they finally halted to a stop. Presented to them were large double doors that recked of hinge oil. Chervil turned the knob, opening the doors carefully.

"Here's where the fun begins, Children." Chervil announced proudly, showing the true glory of his special room.

Inside were toys and games Mint had never seen before, there was even the classical train track that ran throughout the whole room.

"Enjoy." Chervil said, before walking ahead of the stunned girls. "'Cause I know I am."

Everyone was having so much fun they had forgotten that time wouldn't stop just for them. Rosemary and Mint's bodies were readily exhausted, and Chervil had noticed this. In fact, Rosemary was already sleeping soundly on a cuddly toy while Mint was yawning, refusing to give in to her body's clock.

"Grandfather, this has been a lot of fun, but this isn't magic." Mint said groggily, rubbing her eyes to stay awake.

"Ohoho." Chervil laughed heartily. "That's true. Let me put Rosemary to bed first, then I'll show you something you'll never forget."

"Okay." Mint yawned again, but shook her head to keep herself awake.

* * *

Chervil took Mint to his backyard, and to her surprise the sun had already set, a luminous full moon had taken it's place.

"Watch my hands, Mint." Chervil ordered, making sure Mint was focusing on his hands. When he was confident she was, he wriggled his fingers constantly, until a bright blue flame rested upon his palms.

Mint blinked, perplexed at the small ball of fire being tossed between each hand. "How did you do that!"

"Magic." Chervil teased, making another bright blue flame. He juggled the two, adding more balls until the amount made a visible ring. Soon after he showed her many other spells, summoning animals and even creating rain. Then, all of a sudden, everything disappeared, dissipating into nothingness, leaving whatever remained.

"See Mint, not everything can be seen with your eyes, they must also be seen by your heart." Chervil put a hand on his chest, feeling his steady beat. Mint mimicked, feeling her own pulse rate go bumpity bump.

"Can you teach me some magic?" Mint asked her grandfather innocently, earning a smile from the old man.

"Come with me Mint, and I'll teach you as much as you want. But first I want to tell you something..."

* * *

"Wow..." for once Milfeulle was speechless, the story had caught her off guard.

"That's incredible, your grandfather sounds like a joyful man." Chitose commented, slightly gasping herself.

"I'll admit, that's a pretty impressive story you got." Forte pretended that she was only partially interested, even though she was fully engaged the whole time. Ranpha just smiled in satisfaction and Vanilla nodded in approval.

"Thanks, so who's next?" Mint smiled as her friends began to argue on who was next in line, Ranpha or Forte. Amongst all the racket, Mint was deep in thought, "I'll never forget what you said that night, Grandfather..."

"_Real magic, Mint, is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen."_

* * *

**Order Three End**

**Next time...**

**Order Four: Tropical Lollies**

**Summary:** **(Slice of Life/General)** Ranpha Franboise gets a day off, she decides a trip down memory lane will help revitalize her fighting spirit.


	4. Order Four: Tropical Lollies

**Restaurant of Stories**

**By KoarseKrimson**

**Order Four: Tropical Lollies**

**Summary: (General) **Ranpha gets a day off to revitalize her fighting spirit by taking a trip down memory lane. Halfway through however, she meets Takuto who asks for her assistance. Let the misunderstandings begin.

* * *

"Nothing beats spicy food on a day off," Ranpha Franboise smiled with appreciation at the food presented to her; it was all covered in Tabasco sauce. She took sizable bites at the 'Salad de Exotic' with 'Tropical le Beef' while gazing outwards towards the sandy beach, all from the comfort of the restaurant's balcony.

The single sun shone brightly above the resort planet, it's position suggesting the peak of day. To Ranpha, that meant she only had seven hours left until she had to report back to the Elle Ciel, which also meant that she had wasted three hours already. She didn't mind though, the point of a vacation to her was to waste productive hours and turn it into a fun experience. The expenses were also going directly to the ship, so she could continuously spend without fear of a flat wallet.

Although, if she was too frivolous, it might be the other Angeltai she would fear instead.

"Anything else, Ranpha?" one of the waitresses asked with a near genuine smile, "It's nice to see you again after how long?"

"I'm good," Ranpha returned the smile, "and I think its been a year? I can't tell because I'm still as beautiful as I was back then."

The comment made the waitress roll her green irises. "Not to mention just as proud."

"What's wrong with that?" Ranpha shrugged, "I'm only telling the truth."

"Well, whatever." it was then the waitress gave up on the discussion before Ranpha went on a prideful tangent. She stuck in a subject switch just for extra insurance, "You should check out the temple, its changed since you last saw it."

Ranpha was doubting if much changed in just one year, although the temple could have been destroyed or vandalized. That wasn't the most optimistic of thoughts, but it was one of the first things Ranpha had pictured. It was also the reason she became slightly worried.

"New management took over, and they've redecorated." the waitress said after grinning at Ranpha, "Don't worry, it hasn't been destroyed... yet."

"Yet?" at that point Ranpha was interested. Those people at the temple were good individuals. Who would want to tear such a sacred place down? The waitress became nervous. Unsure of what to say, she fiddled with her apron, and slowly began to avoid eye contact.

"There's been a lack of funding ever since the temple existed." the maid stated plainly, "The new headmaster thought it was a good idea to increase revenue by 'jazzing' the place up a little. All it did was put the temple into bankruptcy."

"Let me guess, now the governor wants to tear it down because its not making any profit?" Ranpha had the general idea, but she never knew the place was always low on money. It reminded her of her childhood struggles, like when she had to fight with her siblings for seconds during dinner.

The waitress looked grim, "I'm afraid its worse. The headmaster loaned money from one of the local gangs, and their leader doesn't like late payments."

"Hmm, too bad." Ranpha sighed as she stood erect, stretching her limbs and adding a small yawn. She knew the reply was rude, but even if she cared about the temple, why should she bother about it? It was her day off after all, and she'd much rather watch the Kung-Fu presentation at the town square. The headmaster should just forward his problems to the local police or security. Giving the waitress a good tip before she left, Ranpha waved one last time at her.

"You are going to visit it, right?" the waitress called out before Ranpha headed out the main doors.

"Maybe," was Ranpha's reply.

* * *

The presentation had ended earlier than expected due to Ranpha injuring the instructor by accident, and she was stuck with nothing to do except visit the temple like the waitress suggested. "He did say to come at him with all I had..." the blond woman was annoyed that she had her hopes up for a decent match, but the past was the past. All she could do now was slowly make her way to the temple entrance where Takuto Meyers was conversing with one of the priests...

"What, him?" Ranpha made for some shrubbery that grew in a garden bed near the pathway, surprised by her commander's appearance. Peeking over the overgrown plants, Ranpha figured by the priest's body language that he was suspicious of someone overhearing them. A close enough guess, she mused, before making her way towards some tall trees that bared some of the local fruits.

"Your headmaster owes money to some thugs?" Takuto asked the priest. He was wearing that goofy smile that Ranpha didn't quite get.

The priest bowed his head in shame, "The master has good intentions, but his age leaves him prone to trickery and sly scams."

Ranpha remembered the talk she had with the waitress at the restaurant, and assumed that the Angeltai were called on. There could only be one reason why the commander was present.

"You say that you'll give us the lost technology the temple found if we help you save it?" Takuto kept his smile, and offered his hand to the priest as a shake of agreement.

"Yes, I guarantee it." the priest took the hand and proceeded with the gesture. Afterward, he tilted his head in confusion, "Pardon me, but why 'we'?"

Takuto laughed, and Ranpha felt horrible in the stomach. She knew what he was going to say next, and wasn't the least bit happy about it.

"Ranpha, one of Moon Angels that I'm stationed with, is having a day off here. I was going to look for her and..."

"No way I'm ruining my day off for some lousy work!" Ranpha exclaimed at the top of her lungs, effectively ruining her hiding place by walking up to Takuto. She felt her anger bottle up, like it was hanging in her throat and just dying to come out her mouth in a series of curses and high powered punches. Her sudden appearance from the trees gave both parties a shock. Takuto and the priest because she was eavesdropping and Ranpha because she had come towards him.

"Ah, good timing Ranpha." Takuto had recovered first, "I guess you know the contents of the mission?"

Ranpha looked at him like he was losing it, "Are you deaf? I just said I would not ruin my day to do some mission!"

The commander smiled sheepishly, "I know, but I figured since you were here you could lend me a hand? The other girls are busy protecting prince Shiva with Lester, and I'm not exactly familiar with the area."

"Well then, its time for you to get off your lazy butt and do something. And while you're at it, try and get some important paperwork done too." Ranpha gave him a smug grin, as if she had won the battle of words. The blue haired commander laughed again. She miscalculated.

"Haha, yeah." he scratched the back of his head, "That includes the vacation documents too..."

Apparently her small insult was a double edged sword.

Ranpha felt like beating him up then and there. His head didn't look like a bad punching bag. "I injured a Kung-Fu instructor pretty badly an hour ago. I wonder if I should do the same moves on you, pervert."

He was still laughing. Whether it was because he believed her words or not, didn't matter. "I'm sorry, Ranpha." a tone of seriousness. At least he took his apology sincerely. "As you know, I prefer doing things than writing things."

There were plenty of comebacks for that one, but Ranpha resisted. She also resisted beating his face in. A sigh escaped her lips, she was unsure of what to do. A small silence ensued, and soon she found herself staring at Takuto's eyes. They seemed alive, bright and filled with a certain hope. A hope that maybe everything would turn out alright in the end. The end for what though? Was he hiding something?

He stared back. For how long, Ranpha had no idea. She looked away. "What?" her voice faltered. She had no doubts that she looked embarrassed. In the corner of her peripherals she noticed the same goofy smile. The smile that she hated. She hated to love it.

"Its great to see you're normal again, for a while I was really worried about you," he said. Ranpha was a blusher. That self awareness only made it worse when she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Thanks, I guess." being honest with feelings was a tough business. If it was another man, Ranpha would be much bolder, much more outgoing. She was beautiful, No one would ever deny that. But if she wanted to confront the one in front of her, it'd always backfire, and she'd end up getting all defensive. It never happened before, being bold and all towards Takuto used to be a cinch. She envied the way Takuto could be so honest with minimal effort. How he could just say what he thought without care of what others think of him.

"Are you okay?" but she didn't like how it made him completely oblivious. She punched the back of his head.

"I'm fine. Now move." Ranpha didn't want to be around him any longer. Pushing her way between Takuto and the priest, she proceeded walking towards the temple door.

"Girlfriend trouble?" the priest asked Takuto, eying Ranpha as she nearly kicked the temple doors open. The commander shook his head left and right, and groaned at the pain.

"I don't understand why shes always so defensive towards me." Takuto answered, rubbing the lump that had formed on his head. "She has never addressed me by name either..."

* * *

Was it hate?

No. She didn't hate him. If she really did despise him, she wouldn't have these feelings. She preferred reliable, decisive men, not lazy idiots who ask for help on one's day off. Well, supposed to be day off. She didn't like perverts either.

Yet why?

"Welcome to our temple. Cleanse your soul and purify your thoughts, young one." the priest's voice sounded odd. Ranpha had instantly picked up on it. It wasn't the kind of voice one would want to hear when entering a temple, more like a voice from a satanic leader.

Quick glances around the temple halls told Ranpha two things: Something was up, and it was happening fast. Where were the friendly people that chimed over and over about receiving the blessings of their gods? This bunch was all up tight, like something was stuck up their behinds and intended to stay. The hoods over their heads didn't help.

"I was told to check the temple out due to renovations." Ranpha faked an act. Letting them know she knew something was wrong was a sure fire way to get into unneeded conflict. She didn't want that on a day off. The old priest smiled. His teeth was yellow, and out of place.

"Ah yes, the temple looks much more presentable now." his breath smelt of tuna. It took Ranpha a lot of endurance to hold her act. She turned her face away, taking in the view. Figured it'd be much better than what she was seeing previously. She was right, the flowers in the glass vase by the mahogany table were astoundingly pretty.

"Nice flowers."

"I would say so myself." the tuna was strong. Either he ate it a few minutes ago or the concept of brushing teeth escaped him along with his youth. Breath mints too.

"Nice fountain." Ranpha watched the water spew forth in multiple directions, much like how she felt about herself. Her real self, lost within the flowing stampede of multiple facades. Showing Takuto all the faces she didn't want to, pushing him away when she didn't mean to, having all this confusion when she didn't have to.

"Yes, it is. And I must say you are quite the looker yourself." the old man was flirting. Ranpha felt sick.

"Of course I'm beautiful," here it was again. Bold and proud, no fear, no shame. "who wouldn't think that?"

He was getting closer. She was losing her act. "You seem confident." he said, the words twisted about from his tongue with a playful rhyme.

An aura of fear lingered about him. Ranpha felt a tingle in her spine. She noticed a statue. "Who is that?" she inquired, pointing at the porcelain figure that proudly stood out.

The priest turned around, an adequate distraction. "the original founder." he stated, more disgusted than prideful. "An old fool."

Ranpha thought he should look in the mirror before he talked about others. At least she had the looks to back up her claims. Maybe the priest could read minds, as he gave her a scornful look. "Are you disgusted by me?"

Maybe she was easier to read than she had originally intended. "Not at all." she was a horrible liar. She could say whatever the heck she wanted; it was all written on her face anyways. A gathering of priests had surrounded her, isolated her from the outside. It seemed that this time Milfeulle wasn't needed for Ranpha to get into an unfortunate situation.

"We feel a threatening presence." they all chimed. "You have come to threaten our temple."

They were delusional, paranoid. Ranpha didn't know what to do. She could kick and punch her way out, but their numbers would pose a challenge to her stamina. Being closed in made her feel claustrophobic, and her lungs begged for air.

All hope seemed lost. It ran away like the water from the fountain.

"Stop!"

What Ranpha didn't know was that the water came back through tubes.

"Takuto?" Ranpha saw him, standing high on the mahogany desk. So did the local gathering of priests. They also saw the bomb firmly gripped in his left hand.

"See this bomb?" he paused, making sure the word bomb sunk in, "I'll let it detonate unless you let Ranpha go, and that we have a civilized discussion."

He was crazy. Ranpha joined in the chorus of jaw drops. Was there even a speck of common sense in him? Speculation was among the hooded ones. "Would you really blow up such a sacred place?" one questioned, eyes arched in disbelief.

Takuto seemed resolute. "There are a lot of talented people that can easily replace me, I'm only a man following orders." his smile was grim, "Just like you guys, only a person following their beliefs. But somewhere along the track you all lost sight of it."

Ranpha had to admit, he looked pretty cool just then. Not all of the priests agreed though.

"So what? We don't need some stupid faith, we need money!" another one cried out from the crowd. Some of the others murmured in agreement.

"So you all loan some money from some thugs, and in the end kill them for more revenue?" Takuto was getting cooler by the second. His concrete determination to settle things made Ranpha skip a beat. The others looked around and away, embarrassed and ashamed. One of them however, pulled a gun. He aimed it at Ranpha.

"I'll shoot her, right before your eyes." it was the one with tuna breath. "I know that the bomb is timed, so I'll shoot her before it detonates. I'll make you watch her die, unless you get out of here right now!"

Ranpha eyed the barrel. Fear was a funny thing, made everything go in slow motion. Her breathing, her thoughts, the sound of the fountain, even the gasps of the others. Takuto was the only thing that had stopped completely. Still as a statue, calm as the breeze.

"You have forgotten that detonation can be done manually." Takuto pulled out a remote. More jaw drops. "I'm guessing you're the one who corrupted the others? Promises of happiness with gold alone, headmaster?"

Tuna breath laughed, gun still poised. "So what?"

Takuto frowned. "Are you in so much pain that the thought of money is the only thing keeping you alive?"

It seemed that words were not going to change the old man's ways. He made a crooked smile, and began to lose focus on his firearm.

"Drop the weapon Whisk, or I'll drop this thing!" another voice, this time from the fountain. It was the priest conversing with Takuto previously, and he was holding high a vial with green substances inside it. Whisk was wide eyed.

"What are you doing?" Whisk's voice betrayed his confident composure, "That's the lifeblood of this temple!"

"Listen Whisk, and listen good." Takuto had done his goofy smile. "We have already won, the local authorities have this place surrounded. This was a simple stall for time." the commander opened the bomb, showing cheap candies from a souvenir shop. "We will ask only once more: Drop your weapon, and let's do this peacefully, please?"

Whisk was panicking. He was blinded by fear, "Never!"

Then he fired.

* * *

"Ranpha!" Milfeulle had waited at the shipping bay on the Elle Ciel, and hugged her friend tightly. "You're okay!"

"Of course I'm fine," Ranpha sounded insulted, "No old man can beat me."

"Even I was surprised by Ranpha's final antic." Takuto had exited the transport ship, carrying the newly obtained item of lost technology, "Moving behind the target while he was distracted, very clever. Although you could have put less power on the kick to the ribcage."

The other Angels swarmed around their comrade. A barrage of questions ensued, and Ranpha felt deja vu.

Once again it was Takuto to the rescue, "How are the lollies coming along, Milfeulle?"

"Oh, they're already done!" Milfeulle explained, excited by her own news, "I call them, 'The Tropical Mix'. Who wants some?"

Mouths were watering, and Milfeulle lead them towards the meeting hall. Takuto however asked Ranpha if she could stay behind for a bit, he wanted to say something to her.

"Thanks for helping out earlier," he placed the lost technology on a wooden crate in the holding bay. He smiled. He did that often.

"No problem?" Ranpha said. The praise was unexpected. Wasn't it he who did all the work?

"You stalled them earlier while we were getting prepared." Takuto had misinterpreted the stunt Ranpha was doing earlier, her intentions were to save her own backside. "And you said you didn't want to do some lousy work. You almost had me for a second there."

He thought she was the star of the show. "You took your sweet time." Ranpha didn't mind, being the center of attention was no problem.

He laughed. So did she. Her commander stopped, stunned by the new attitude Ranpha had sub consciously displayed. Ranpha followed suit, realizing that it was the first time in a while she was relaxed in front of him.

"I like this Ranpha." a grin formed on his lips, "Bold and courageous, won't take anything from anybody."

She looked away, feeling the red in her cheeks. "Of course I'm courageous, idiot."

A reliable and decisive man. Maybe there was more to Takuto than she thought.

* * *

**Next Time...**

**Order Five: Angel Salad**

**Summary: (Action)** A mission forces the Angeltai to hold their ground against an undead force, revived from lost technology. The situation looks dire, but can the Angels and their Emblem Frames hold out? How much do they trust Takuto?

**A/N:** Late update, yeah. But after some time, I found some massive forms of motivation and boom, here I am, writing my behind off. Ranpha was fun to write, I won't lie. This is also the longest chapter I have ever written.


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